The Third Man of the Double Helix

The Autobiography of Maurice Wilkins

Maurice Wilkins

Quick, who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the double helical structure of DNA? Most people would say Watson and Crick. Many don't know that Wilkins shared the prize with Watson and Crick but missed out on the limelight, due largely to Watson's hit book, The Double Helix. Wilkins thought the book was so misleading he asked Harvard University Press not to publish it. Things have quieted down a bit now, and Wilkins is now telling the story his way. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the DNA discovery.

The Third Man of the Double Helix

The Autobiography of Maurice Wilkins

Maurice Wilkins

Description

Quick, who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the double helical structure of DNA? Most people would say Watson and Crick. But most people would make Maurice Wilkins very upset. The Rodney Dangerfield of biology, Wilkins shared the prize with Watson and Crick but missed out on the limelight, due largely to Watson's hit book, The Double Helix. Wilkins thought the book was so misleading he asked Harvard University Press not to publish it. Things have quieted down a bit now, and Wilkins is now telling the story his way. This book tells how he showed his colleagues the x-ray picture that gave them their crucial insight, and about his interactions with Rosalind Franklin, the researcher who actually created the picture, and who also received very little credit for
her role in the discovery. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the DNA discovery. Finally Wilkins gets to have his say.

The Third Man of the Double Helix

The Autobiography of Maurice Wilkins

Maurice Wilkins

Table of Contents

PrefaceList of plates1. Distant shores2. Finding my feet3. In a world at war4. Randall's circus5. Crystal genes6. Go back to your microsco7. How does DNA keep its secrets?8. The double helix9. Living with the double helix10. A broader viewIndex

The Third Man of the Double Helix

The Autobiography of Maurice Wilkins

Maurice Wilkins

Author Information

Maurice Wilkins is Emeritus Professor at King's College London, and shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Crick and Watson for the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA.